January 20, 2010 - Bus Driver Allegedly DUI on Field Trip

A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, school bus driver was charged with driving under the influence after a chaperon on a holiday trip called police to complain about his driving.

Brian Dunlap, 38, of Friendship was arrested Monday and released Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. In addition to the DWI charge, Dunlap faces 15 counts of endangering the welfare of children.

Dunlap drove 15 students from Carrick High School to the Carnegie Science Center, The chaperon, Ryan Dunmire, decided to call police on the return trip.

Dunmire, a Carrick aide, said Dunlap narrowly missed a pole pulling into the center's parking lot. She told police he laughed and that she had observed him slurring words.

Dunlap was not working for the school district, officials said. Alexa New of Pittsburgh Cares said the organization hired SD Transit to take a group of Carrick students to a day of service to mark Martin Luther King's birthday, followed by the trip to the science center.

The police report said Dunlap failed a field sobriety test. An expert concluded he was under the influence of drugs, not alcohol.